Federal Climate Change Forecasting Agency Launched

This morning the Obama administration announced the formation of a new "climate service," an agency "aimed at providing long-term forecasts to assist fisheries managers, farmers, state governments, renewable energy developers, water managers and others," according to Greenwire. The new agency will fall under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and head Jane Lubchenco, who appeared with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to make the announcement this morning.Locke likened the new agency to the National Weather Service, explaining: "This will provide a single point of contact, a one-stop shop for businesses and government that need NOAA's high-quality forecasting for making predictions…They turn to the Weather Service for making predictions in the short range, now we need the climate service … because increasingly climate change is affecting everyone's bottom line."The Climate Service is a reorganization more than an entirely new endeavor. It will bring into closer contact existing climate science from throughout many government agencies. The current director of the National Climatic Data Center, Thomas Karl, will serve as temporary director, along with six regional directors.Diagram courtesy of Pew Center on Global Climate ChangeThis post originally appeared on www.refresheverything.com, as part of GOOD's collaboration with the Pepsi Refresh Project, a catalyst for world-changing ideas. Find out more about the Refresh campaign, or to submit your own idea today.